The Computational Beauty of Nature: Computer Explorations of Fractals, Chaos, Complex Systems, and Adaptation

Gary W Flake Gary William Flake

ISBN 10: 0262561271 / ISBN 13: 9780262561273

Published by The MIT Press Bookstore, 2000

About this Item

pp. 520.

Seller Inventory # 26692301

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Computational Beauty of Nature: Computer Explorations of Fractals, Chaos, Complex Systems, and Adaptation
• Publisher: The MIT Press Bookstore
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262561271
• ISBN 13: 9780262561273
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Gary William Flake develops in depth the simple idea that recurrent rules can produce rich and complicated behaviors.

In this book Gary William Flake develops in depth the simple idea that recurrent rules can produce rich and complicated behaviors. Distinguishing "agents" (e.g., molecules, cells, animals, and species) from their interactions (e.g., chemical reactions, immune system responses, sexual reproduction, and evolution), Flake argues that it is the computational properties of interactions that account for much of what we think of as "beautiful" and "interesting." From this basic thesis, Flake explores what he considers to be today's four most interesting computational topics: fractals, chaos, complex systems, and adaptation.

Each of the book's parts can be read independently, enabling even the casual reader to understand and work with the basic equations and programs. Yet the parts are bound together by the theme of the computer as a laboratory and a metaphor for understanding the universe. The inspired reader will experiment further with the ideas presented to create fractal landscapes, chaotic systems, artificial life forms, genetic algorithms, and artificial neural networks.

About the Author

Gary William Flake is a research scientist in the Adaptive Information and Signal Processing Department of Siemens Corporate Research, Princeton, New Jersey.